


letters of dedication to death

by peach_scones



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-New Dangan Ronpa V3, Pre-New Dangan Ronpa V3, Rewrite, Self-Harm, Sexual Assault, Sickness, Suicidal Thoughts, Triggering Subjects, different ending, syringes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-01-23 23:01:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21328105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peach_scones/pseuds/peach_scones
Summary: Tsumugi Shirogane writes letters within the process of V3. Her findings are recorded. She has dedicated her life to this so she must continue no matter what comes into her way.The eyes have walls.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi, Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Shinguji Korekiyo/Yumeno Himiko
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	1. the walls have eyes

_Team Danganronpa,_

_I am so proud to announce that V3 has officially started, not that you guys don’t know… you’re all watching me succeed at this very moment. Thank you for your compassion, the set looks amazing… I’m truly bewildered by all the effort put into this season’s set, it’s truly nothing like the last one at all.. It gives it a feeling of a show…… I love it. No. I adore it. Thank you, truly.. From the bottom of my heart. This is what my life is. I’m so glad it is. Till another letter, Shirogane Tsumugi._

* * *

Danganronpa was Tsumugi's dreams, hopes and desires fit into one show, one emblem of herself. Fifty-three seasons so far, there had been no stopping her.

She grew on Danganronpa, Danganronpa was the only thing she ever knew. Tsumugi was the only thing Danganronpa knew, there was no separating them from one another. She had dedicated her life to Danganronpa. She rose it to the top, her hard work was never credited to her but to the team that made it a reality of its own. She always thanked her wonderful team. They were her bloodstream.

V3 went off without a hitch, her fingers tingled of excitement every time a new season begun. She was excited. Way more than thrilled, nothing could express the level of happiness, excitement and satisfaction she felt all into one. She was always an emotional person with Danganronpa, it felt intimate. She stood in front of a statue in one of the rundown halls.. Pretending to inspect it, deep in thought. Kaede Akamatsu, the ultimate Pianist and Shuichi Saihara, the ultimate Detective taped right at her side. She pretended not to pay attention to the girl, making noises as if she was still thinking, wondering. But really, Tsumugi couldn’t keep her excitement.. The first contestant to talk to her was the first one who she’d plan to be the blackened first. Like every other time, everything landed in its place perfectly, just like a puzzle.. That’s how Danganronpa always was. A puzzle that took long to complete but was quite a beautiful sight to see after it was completed, the satisfaction that would wave over and overwhelm her. Of course, in a good way.

“Hey, You’re an ultimate student, right? Can we talk-” Kaede’s voice was soft.. Sweet and mellow. It was perfect, just the thing that would wrench the viewer’s hearts out when she said something heartwarming. People would, should cry at her execution. Her last words will trace themselves into people’s lives. That was the purpose. “Heeey! Hellooooo!” Tsumugi was truly too excited she couldn’t even say her lines yet, it was perfect, everyone’s actions were controlled by a minimum but Kaede had approached her first, it was perfect, it was just how she wanted it to happen. The tingle got even stronger as Kaede talked, Shuichi as well, she never really wanted to think about it in such a way but… They were like her dolls. Kaede poked her cheek. Adorable, it gave the audience a more.. Authentic cutesy feel. She wished she could blurt out that Kaede was doing amazing, that it was truly the best, she was truly the best… But she’d need to save it for later. She kept poking, it was pure that Kaede thought that she was a doll, a detailed one at that. It was a cue that everything looked perfect and all the participants were confused by their surroundings yet nonetheless not afraid to explore, as far as she could see with Kaede. Tsumugi finally got herself together enough to say her lines, she hoped that Team Danganronpa thought of it all just like she did. The day continued with everyone else talking to her just like Kaede did, or her talking to others, of course she’d need to move around and not stay in one place but it gave her more chances to look at the breathtaking set her team made, she was proud to call Danganronpa hers.

* * *

It was time for the first murder, the announcement went out and they'd begin to run out of time. Tsumugi's adrenaline kept rushing and rushing, she could feel the tingle in her fingers again, she could feel the blood pumping through her body and her heart beating so fast that she couldn't possibly catch up. It was time and she was so ready. The first victim and the first blackened were Rantaro Amami and Kaede Akamatsu, the ultimate pianist and the ultimate adventurer, well, now the ultimate ??? since in v2 he was.. already the ultimate adventurer. The survivor from the last season would normally never make it through the second chapter... but this time.. this time it would be different. He'd be the first gone.. and he'd be killed by someone that _nobody _expected it to be. Kaede _was _the protagonist but this season..... they chose a different route, the protagonist would switch. She didn't know if it would be better, or if anyone would like it.. but she thought it was amazing and so far every single one of her ideas so far were loved, so she went with her gut and wrote it. 

But. Something.. unexpected happened this time, so she had to take matters into her own hands. Shuichi ran out and Kaede rolled the shot put into the vents but Rantaro wasn't where he was supposed to be. He was never. He always ruined her plans, that's how he won.. he always outsmarted her or found things out. Which was exactly why she wouldn't let him stay alive. But not this time, not now, no way. It was her way or nobody's way, she dedicates her life to this and she's not letting some green haired mysterious _asshole_ ruin her show. 

He always sacrificed himself but she had no self to sacrifice. If he was so very brave to defy her then he'd need to face consequences for his actions. This was his consequence. Death, it's the only fair way.

Tsumugi was watching in the bathroom, how Rantaro betrayed her plans once again. She rushed into the stall and into the room she called her kingdom, her secret abyss. The academy was her kingdom, she ruled it but only in secret. She grabbed one of the shot put balls that held the heavy Junko wig on it's stand, she was smart, everything worked well enough. She'd need to hurry or they'd catch her, Kaede and Shuichi were already on their way. She opened the secret library door, her adrenaline kept rushing and rushing and rushing and rushing and--

He was dead, there was no more Rantaro Amami to ruin her plans. She ran back into the bookcase and closed it shut as she heard footsteps approaching. 

Everything went exactly to plan, and there will be no stopping her.

* * *

_Team Danganronpa, _

_Hello. Chapter one is over and done with, we have five more to go but everything seems like such a success right now at one point I'd been confused that this was the end. Everyone is in shock with the protagonist switch, I knew it would be a hit. Thank you for trusting me once again, I always keep my promises.. though the murder was not... executed perfectly... I made it work. I will never let you down, you are my everything, Danganronpa. Everything is perfect. You are all perfect. As always keep them under simulation for the whole season as always. Rantaro Amami will not return anymore seasons.. Some people are bummed but some people were relived. But what is it now? He is dead and he will not continue. Thank you for your patience with me, as always. Till the next letter, Shirogane Tsumugi. _

* * *

It is officially the start of chapter two, every chapter starts with new beginnings, Shuichi is now the protagonist now that Kaede Akamatsu has been deemed the blackened and executed in a very heart-wrenching manner, the type of execution that pulls at your heart until it falls apart. The next blackened and victim are Ryoma Hoshi and Kirumi Tojo, the selfless maid and the no will to live tennis pro. She thought the plot was perfect, now to see it all play out.

Maybe it isn't a good time to record such a finding but, maybe it would be important for later.. maybe it would hurt the viewer more once they saw what she saw. Korekiyo Shinguji, the ultimate anthropologist and Himiko Yumeno, the ultimate magician.. or as she named herself, the ultimate mage were found...... sneaking to one another's rooms. The miniature cameras came in handy a lot, Tsumugi was so proud of her team for implementing the tiny monokuma cameras. Of course, they hadn't done anything wrong, the only thing they were caught doing was just plain talking in the dark. No movement, they'd sit on the floor, on the bed or lay down, there would never be any touching. Tsumugi designed Korekiyo to be.. scary, unfriendly looking, creepy above all, why on earth had Himiko began to talk to him? Why did that become a thing?.. Nonetheless after thinking of it, she would not include it in the show. Himiko losing her two friends soon for an unfair cause was enough, not to add some stupid love cliche, everyone would suspect that one of them was going to die or kill soon.. the blackened and victims are supposed to be surprises, not given away a chapter before because they showed two characters and meaningless conversations at three in the morning. She was surprised that he didn't try to kill her in the dark or anything. At the same time it was sad and heartwarming. A separate show for Tsumugi to listen into while stitching her Junko cosplay, the conversations about how she had succeeded in planting fear into them. At least one of them would survive but neither of them knew who was going to survive. 

In the early crack of dawn, Korekiyo had finally decided to go back to his room to make it appear as if he never left it in the first place. Even so, before leaving he had placed and tucked in Himiko before exiting her room. A gentle carry, a gentle lift of sheets and gently placing her inside. Soft movements which had no ill intent. Sister definitely wouldn't have liked such a thing and now thinking about it she should've gone with her prior option, the character development was the same, the death was the same. The emotion would've been louder. A small mistake was made but the plot and writing was still fine, it was all still fine and all still good enough. Tsumugi snuck into her room as well a few minutes later. 

Later into the morning Angie and Himiko headed to the gym to start up Himiko's magical magic show, not knowing what lay behind the wall in the piranha tank. A corpse of someone who did not need to be alive, as he thought.. but, Tsumugi thought that they _all _deserved to live, they all signed up for Danganronpa. For this new season. They all auditioned and they all _wanted _to be in the show, she was so proud of them going through with their actions and putting so much dedication into what they were doing, truly, they were all the stars of the show. And Tsumugi was beyond proud to be able to say that she was the one who created it. They'd all be thanked in proper manner, they deserved everything in the world for going through and making her dreams a reality. Tsumugi had so many things to be grateful for, just like with Kaede she wanted to go around and thank everyone personally, shake their hands or hug them.. tell them thank you for everything they had or are doing. But perhaps that would need to wait until later, until after her game finished and everything went to plan. 

Except for Rantaro Amami, he had enough, he'd won her game and outsmarted her so many times it just got plain ol' boring. Not this time.

_Rantaro Amami has enough, he's being fucking greedy, let everyone have a turn, huh? Taro?.._

Shuichi entered the gymnasium and thus, the show began. All of the chatter around her made her so happy, it sounded like music to her ears. Himiko got on top of the tank and Angie began to introduce the act, everything was going to plan, everyone was watching fiercely but this time around she _knew _ it would go to plan, because there wasn't anyone to ruin her plans just as Rantaro Amami had previously done. This game was going _her _way. Without further ado, Himiko dropped into the tank. Tsumugi glanced at Korekiyo and sighed, had she only just let Himiko die in front of Korekiyo it would drive him into a spiral of despair, wouldn't it? He tensed up a bit and watched the tank more attentively than the others, as if he'd be the one to go and save her. If she had done that, maybe Korekiyo could explain it all during the trial, everyone would be heartbroken by their very sad love story.. alas, that wasn't the way Tsumugi wanted to steer his character. He was supposed to be unlikable. 

Tenko panicked as the timer was beginning to count down to it's last few seconds and got Gonta to go and save Himiko.. The gentle giant who'd be there to protect everyone. He got onto the top of the tank just as the timer went off, Himiko hadn't come out of the tank. Tsumugi glanced around the room, everyone was tense and scared, Tenko was panicked and she could see a hinge of panic coming off of Korekiyo as well, he just wouldn't let it show through like Tenko did. Gonta got onto the top of the tank and watched as the piranha tank doors snapped open and they fell out into the tank. "Huh?... Huhhh?" Everyone, being unsettled rushed towards the tank Himiko was swimming in. Tenko let out a panicked yelp, "H-Hurry! The curtains! Open the curtains already!" And to Tenko's request, Angie pulled the curtains open and what they saw was something they did not expect to see. Instead of Himiko being eaten by piranhas, it was Ryoma Hoshi's body. He was devoured by the piranhas, everyone stood silent. This was exactly how she saw it. Thank you so much Kirumi. 

Himiko stood in front of the tank and held her arms up in victory, not yet realizing what was behind her. "Behold! The magnificent Underwater Esca-" The body discovery announcement ringing, cutting her sentence short. Himiko turned around and looked at the tank, it's bloody red waters glared right back at her. After long, they all began their investigation. Goodbye Kirumi Tojo, thank you.

Shuichi got everything spot on and he declared Kirumi the blackened. Her reason being that it was for her nation but put simply, she was doing it for the world. The whole world they thought no longer existed was watching them at that very moment, cheering them on. She did it for the world.. her world, Tsumugi will be forever grateful. Kirumi was executed just as beautifully as Kaede was. After that, everyone got onto the elevator, they all arrived at the statue. Tsumugi felt bad, really, she wished she could let them all rest as they deserved but something was needed in order to develop Maki. Kokichi uncovered her true identity to everyone, truly, just as Kokichi said.. She could snap his neck like a twig if she really wanted to. 

* * *

_Team Danganronpa, _

_Chapter two was such a success, I only hope chapter three can live up to it. With what heavy topics it contains I hope nobody is seriously upset by it, remember to add a trigger warning before setting the show to air, the last thing I'd want would be for ratings to drop because of it. Even so, please trust that chapter three will air fine, it may cause a bit of discourse but if anything is sent to offices, ignore it. It's simple, so please, trust me as you have been continuously doing. _

_Recently I have sort of re-thought a bit of writing, but I do not want to.. stress you all out, as all the work you've put into the show is certainly more than enough. All of the re-writing I thought about was nothing but an after thought, but worry not if I really want to go through with something I will make sure that you accept it first. Thank you. Oh! Don't forget to get flowers for everyone who has died so far. All but Rantaro Amami, I think he has enough fan mail to fill a room. With forever gratefulness, Shirogane Tsumugi._

* * *

Quite honestly, Tsumugi felt like chapter three wasn't her best. 


	2. this time i might just dissapear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your thoughts are not your own. 
> 
> TW for self harm, it's only one part but it's still there so be careful. <3

Chapter three was quite the chapter, some could say. Tsumugi thought it was beautifully well written, after all it was written by her. She thought it was perfect for Korekiyo to have committed the murders. When Tsumugi was watching everyone from afar, when they all auditioned, Shinguji Korekiyo was the third one to be examined. He was quiet, not as mysterious as he is in-game but.. Something about him just walking around invisibly gave Tsumugi such a thrill. Someone who was made to believe that they were invisible, after some extensive home watching, (which was of course legal) Tsumugi met Korekiyo’s older sister and it appeared to Tsumugi that his sister was the one in charge of making him feel invisible. She admired her for creating such a character, it was impeccable. Tsumugi was a tad bit disappointed that his sister was too old to get into Danganronpa, because she’d love to have siblings in the show.. Who plotted something together. Truly, that was where Tsumugi drew the inspiration for chapter 4, one manipulated by the other; to murder. Honestly, Tsumugi wanted her to be in the show, with or without Korekiyo.. Which is why Tsumugi made her relevant into his story in the first place, she respected his sister and thought that she’d deserve some sort of spot, as well to illuminate the ideas that Tsumugi had. He was manipulated by his older sister to murder.

If she’d need to be completely honest, Tsumugi regretted her decisions. If she would’ve known they fit together so perfectly, maybe it would’ve been written in. While observing Himiko before the game took place, she never thought that they’d get along, yes, Himiko was quiet but not as quiet as Korekiyo, he had an ominous aura around him. Himiko was like a cat, a face that said “fuck off” but when she liked you she’d just attach to you and give you all the love she could. When she observed everyone, she made connections between them all to see who would be friends with who.. And the relationship between them _ never _crossed her mind. Maybe they could’ve plotted a murder together or something, they’d bend the rules in a way that nobody would expect but one of them got caught and the other would need to live with the regret that they killed two people, one of whom they loved ever so dearly. Tch, whatever, the chapter was perfect as is, every outcome that Tsumugi wrote was perfect.. It didn’t matter which one she picked, everyone would trust her. 

It was only a few days after Kirumi’s trial and Tsumugi sat in the mid-darkness, glancing between the tree of monitors, searching for anything and everything interesting; the only interesting thing so far was Himiko and Korekiyo’s nightly routine of talking. Himiko had a nightmare, which kind of satisfied Tsumugi in a way.. Anyway, Korekiyo was there to comfort her and they began to ramble as they always did. It was just like every other day and Tsumugi really didn’t expect anything new, she got up to get her Junko cosplay off the mannequin so she could resume sewing it, small little details that would make the cosplay feel like the real deal.

* * *

They sat across from each other, any closer would feel too intimate and Himiko didn’t really quite know if it was right to feel anything in the situation they were put in. Korekiyo was seemingly fine with it, he was fine with anything. Kinda. He slowly drank his tea through his mask, she quietly watched him do so, trying to figure out how in the world it worked.. Some type of magic? It was useless to try to figure it out, other people probably wondered the same thing. “Did you end up sleeping well after I left, Yumeno?” He placed the tea cup down on the table and waited for a response. It was around 6 am, so far she’d seen Miu, Maki and Tsumugi roaming around. Nobody else was awake, she knew Tenko and Angie wouldn’t be awake for a little while more so she could enjoy this quiet tea talk thing alone with Korekiyo. Tenko would just call him a degenerate and Angie would just be rambling about Kami-sama, both things that Korekiyo expressed his uncomfort with. “..I slept okay. I woke up kinda early.. I think, but I just kind of stayed awake after that..” She stirred her tea and watched the faint white cream curl around the spoon. “I laid in bed until you jiggled the doorknob..” He took a sip, then placed it down again. She could tell that he was smiling. “It certainly makes me feel special to have some sort of secret code. I’ve never had anything like that, I suppose.” A calm silence stretched out in the middle, until he began to speak again.

“Thank you for having that with me, Yumeno.”

He raised the tea cup up to his mask again and kept sipping. Himiko tensed up a bit, she never really had something like that either. It felt like she was still a kid.. Keeping a secret code with a friend in order to communicate. One jiggle for “Come to my room.” Two for “Come out” and Three for “I’m here.” Most of the time it was three jiggles but today he jiggled the door 5 times, a space in between three jiggles and two. “I’m here, come out.” Every time they did that, Himiko would smile at the door because of how purely childish it was. She shifted in her seat and finally took a sip of the now room temperature tea. “Nyeh.. yeah..” Korekiyo rambled on about how different cultures had codes to communicate in dire situations and then he moved on to talking about languages, sign language and hieroglyphs. Himiko never really understood what Korekiyo was saying, but it was nice to listen while she laid her head on the table and heard the small _ tap, tap, tap, tap _that Korekiyo rhythmically made with his fingers.

* * *

Everyone was inside Maki Harukawa’s ultimate research lab, the ultimate assassins lab was quite fitting; having weapons on the wall, practice ranges and everything of the sort. Tsumugi could tell that the team really worked hard and she was almost moved to tears as she looked around. What really caught her eye was the long red hooded coat, Tsumugi really didn’t design the labs and left it all to the team with little specks of input of what she wanted or suggested for everyone but she never saw the labs, except for Rantaro’s; It was beautiful and such a shame that nobody this season would be able to see it. She was so excited and she couldn’t hold it back. “What are you looking all excited about?” Maki muttered to Tsumugi, and without realizing it, Tsumugi let it slip. “Oh! It’s amazing! Don’t you think?” Maki looked perplexed, why in the world would Tsumugi be so excited to see a room full of weapons? She pointed at the cloak in the display, “The coat! T-That would make for an awesome cosplay.. Oh! For someone like.. Ruby Rose!” Maki simply scoffed and turned.

By receiving all the junk from the monokubs, Tsumugi could tell everything was moving by smoothly and she’d just need to wait for Shuichi to open everything. She felt bad for him and she really was sorry for getting Kaede so close to him and just yanking her from him. Literally. Either way, in no time as he always did, he figured it all out and opened the hall to both Angie and Korekiyo’s research labs, both places where bodies would be found. Tsumugi looked around and remembered the festivals her school held, she really liked having sports day and festivals.. Stuff like that made her feel like she was in an anime yet she hated them because she had no friends to enjoy them with. All these decorations, drapes and things slightly reminded her of it, how dreadful. Why did she need friends now that she had it all at her fingertips? All the while it was breathtaking at the same time, every time that a lab opened her heart would flutter with even more anticipation. Tsumugi knew everything was a simulation but it all felt so real, she wished she could stay in this world forever. 

* * *

The golden katana, the cage, the heavy pure wood dog, the drape. It all spoke to him in some foreign language. Not one that was discovered, not one that he knew bits and pieces of, not a language that he knew how to say hello, goodbye and thank you in. The objects spoke to him in a scary way, in a threatening way, telling him many things.. Yet he could not nor would ever learn to decipher what they meant. He looks composed, he stands upright (somewhat), he’s well-spoken and polite. He _ looks _ like he knows what’s going on but in reality he doesn’t know what’s going on. Shuichi appeared, someone who isn’t him speaks for him. Korekiyo just sits in the back, someone else is speaking and he doesn’t know who that person is. Every single time that he speaks it all blurs, he has no idea what’s happening and he has no idea what his mouth is saying. He freaks out over Kokichi touching something, he freaks out about some book. Nothing is clear and it never has been for as long as he could remember. When _ he _ does speak it comes out in that same voice, that same manner but it’s him speaking. That only happens with Himiko and maybe he got comfortable too quickly but if she was the first chance for Korekiyo to finally speak for himself he’d take it. He didn’t really care if it was someone else, he wouldn’t care if it was Ryoma or Kokichi, he wouldn’t care if it was Miu or Maki. As long as _ he _got to speak he didn’t care. It sounds selfish but he can’t talk to himself or else people will think he’s gone insane. After Shuichi leaves, Kokichi says something and leaves but he doesn’t hear it because all Korekiyo could hear was the book and all the threats it made. Everything he looked at or even touched threatened him, told him to do something or hurt him. 

Everyone gathered in the cafeteria and after a static-filled conversation of speaking about the flashback light plus getting threatened by Maki, Shuichi turned on the flashback light. Everything went black for a split second, something flashed twice and the memory of their funeral came. Something like that has never happened before and it startled him, once everyone came to, Korekiyo felt a really bad headache coming on. They had a conversation and he didn’t speak throughout the whole thing, they ate afterwards; a few times Himiko tried nudging his leg as she usually did but he just stared at the food in front of him. He never glanced over to look at her but he could tell that she wasn’t able to even talk to him a bit due to Tenko rambling about something, having Angie interrupt multiple times. The ringing only got louder, everything got even more blurred and Korekiyo had to excuse himself without even having touched his plate. Nobody noticed. 

He stumbled to his room, dragged his mask down and realized he was breathing heavily. Air came in but never came out. Once he laid down onto the uncomfortable bed he never slept on he passed out. All the threats made by the objects Korekiyo did not understand could now be understood, he could see past the darkness in the memory. Orders are orders, he needs to do as told. It’s not like the orders would ever stop anyway. 

Bear hence this body and attend our will. Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill.

* * *

Tsumugi noticed that Korekiyo and Himiko slept in their own respective rooms that night, Korekiyo slept with his mask but he slept fully dressed. He must have passed out, Himiko just huddled into bed and didn’t sleep. Had they gotten into an argument or something? They made small conversation all the time when they all ate but this time Korekiyo didn’t touch his plate. He got up and left instead. Himiko didn’t notice until they were all done, it was Tsumugi and Himiko’s turn to wash plates since after all they didn’t have Kirumi anymore. “Did you see K- Shinguji get up?” Tsumugi shook her head, “Plain ol’ me doesn’t notice a lot of things… Maybe he felt sick or something!..” She was handed another plate. “Oh.” Himiko looked somewhat disappointed, as if they ever hung out publicly. “Are you busy? Let’s spend time together, Yumeno! We can cosplay from a magical girl show and you can do some magic!” In the end, Himiko reluctantly agreed since, well, she had nothing to do. All of it was a chance for Tsumugi to observe her a little more, there was a lot that cameras didn't catch, facial expressions and the sort. At first Himiko didn’t really seem to care about what was going on but they ended up having fun. Tsumugi felt bad, Himiko would not only be losing two people but three. In the end she knew Himiko would resent her for as long as she lived. That was what was always so hard about doing this, Tsumugi never wanted to hurt anyone. Anyone who didn’t get in her way. 

Until the announcement came over, Tsumugi stayed watching Korekiyo. He slept in, which was something someone like Korekiyo never did. He layed in bed wide awake and curled over, spacing out. Either way, everyone needed to rush to the Gym. Tsumugi got to the front of the school and before entering she encountered Himiko, it seemed like everyone was spacing out today. “Good morning, Yumeno!” Himiko snapped out of it and looked at Tsumugi. “I don’t like the feeling of this… I feel like something bad will happen..” Tsumugi tilted her head, what was Himiko getting at? “Hmm? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I feel plainly normal.” Himiko looked down. “Nyeh.. nothing.” 

The motive was announced and Tsumugi knew exactly what was to come soon. Korekiyo stared at the necronomicon for a while but looked away. Everyone conversed about it, Kaito freaked out over ghosts and the Student Council was introduced, after Tsumugi and Himiko’s little cosplay session; Angie gathered all of them for a student council meeting and they all ended up having a pool party. It was fun to say the least and Himiko looked like she was genuinely enjoying herself, Tsumugi wondered why her and Korekiyo hadn’t talked. It wasn't like he was ignoring her but he never seemed like he was there, his voice was plain and monotone, what happened for him to be this way? Himiko probably wondered the same thing. 

It began to get late and Tsumugi was getting antsy, she wanted the murders to happen already, the thrill of the investigation, oh how she yearned for it. Not that she _ wanted _ someone to die but Tsumugi wanted to feel that anxiousness of the trials, the way the trials made her feel was the reason she did this; not only for the audience, not only for the power, not only for making people feel like she’s in control, no, she just liked the thrill.. The way it made her feel, _ that _was what she was doing it for. She glanced at the courtyard and saw both Maki and Shuichi training, but this time Kaito wasn’t with them. As the quote goes, curiosity kills the cat, Tsumugi looked over at Kaito’s bedroom camera. Yes, it was invasive to have cameras in people’s bedrooms and sometimes even in bathrooms (though that was really the only place she never watched, there were cameras in there still.) but she’d been doing it for so long that she just got used to watching everyone have fun instead of her being out there with them. Her talents have all been somewhat out of the ordinary and normally nobody talked to her quite as much as everyone else so she was a shut in, watching from afar. All this getting used to watching people thought quickly closed in within itself when she saw that Kaito was curled over, coughing his lungs out, there was blood on the towels on the floor and a fair bit of blood on his shirt. Kaito would need to wait on doing that, if he died before even getting to chapter 5 then everything would be ruined. Tsumugi wasn’t going to allow that. She got up and got two syringes from the cabinet she had next to her desk. This was a simulation and anything could happen here, someone can get executed and turned into butter so this could easily be done as well. She got to his room and asked to be let in but he wouldn’t let her. She shoved her way in and did what was needed, there was a 50/50 that it could speed up the process and not delay it but that just meant every murder got closer and closer. That was a good thing. 

* * *

It felt numb, the noise that the saw made against the wood sounded like nails on a chalkboard at this point, the only thing that he could feel was the movement; up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down. Just repeated. His mind was blank, there was nothing going on in his head. He heard no voices anymore, he did not hear his sister, he did not hear the objects, he did not hear anyone or anything anymore. While in the bathroom he noticed that he couldn’t look at his face, when he tried to look up at himself his eyes averted away by themselves. It was normal for his body to do as it pleased but a lot of the times he’d be able to regain control of it. He couldn’t this time.. And it frustrated him. His room became unbearably messy and whenever he got the urge to clean it, instead he passed out on the bed. He missed talking to Himiko, most of all, out of all of the things that he stopped hearing it was her voice, her voice directed at him. She didn’t try nudging him anymore, she didn’t look at him or tapped him when she passed in the halls. No more handle jiggling, no more late night conversations, no more of his voice being heard. None of it. Not anymore. He didn’t even know why he was doing this to all of the cross pieces anymore, he forgot the purpose of it. He was in the top left room, he started down and went up, this was his last room. He thought he heard someone walk into the room underneath him when he was in the middle top floor but he really couldn’t care less, the cross piece would only move if heavy pressure was put onto it so it would not move if someone were to simply step on it. He picked up everything and left. He didn’t sleep that whole night and to be completely honest, he didn’t try. He laid in bed and waited for something. But nothing came. 

The sun rose and he felt dead, he wanted to be dead, honestly. It would have been so easy to kill someone like him and it wasn’t like anyone would _ really _ care. He’s thin, frail, bony, skinny, lanky and he could be blown away with a large gust of wind. His hair began to fall out, he hadn’t eaten anything in who knows how long, his hands shook every time he looked at them and he felt cold. Really cold. He stood and everything went black, his body went limp and he hit the ground. _ Hard. _He laid there for a second because he didn’t feel anything.. and then he felt it. He felt really warm. Warmness that trickled from out of nowhere and drenched his hair, warmness that marked his neck. He got onto his knees and felt the warmness lead under his jacket, tracing his spine, every single nerve, bone, scar. All of it was traced in the warmness. He wondered what color the warmness was, maybe a pale orange or red. Something that looked as warm as it felt. Warm, warm, warm, warm. Warm sounds weird. It’s spelled weird. Everything is. That’s what made everything beautiful for them. Not for him. For them. He didn’t know who they were yet. But they were there. Always. He got up, successfully this time and headed out the door. 

* * *

It was the day.. The trial would be in a few hours and she’d feel the rush, oh how she couldn’t wait. She was basically shaking with anticipation. This was such a perfect crime, all of the double murders always made her more excited, all of their reactions were over the top and loud, those loud shrieks and screams made her heart skip a beat. If anything they were the ones who should’ve survived, just so she could spoil them for their grand performances.. But per rules, survivors get all the perks. Korekiyo had so many twists embedded within him. Oh! And she was so happy that everyone would be able to meet his sister, Tsumugi hoped she would be watching and be as happy as she was. She was just waiting for the body discovery announcement to play, she’d happily walk over to Angie’s lab. Angie wasn’t really dead anyway, so it wasn’t wrong to think that at all. Rantaro Amami wasn’t around anymore, there was no more ruining her game. He’d wake up and whatever but Team Danganronpa would no longer support him, his fans and his stalkers, his lovers, all the fan-mail, dead flowers and everything else would. Rantaro Amami is officially dead to her. Whatever happens to him is not her problem anymore. 

ding, dong, dong, ding. 

Angie Yonaga’s body has been found and Tsumugi already knew where she needed to go, without the announcement even coming over yet to report to the Ultimate Artist’s lab. Sunflowers would look so pretty in daylight, so Tsumugi picked those for Angie. Tsumugi entered Angie’s lab behind Gonta. Tsumugi knew the exact layout of everything, she wrote it all. Everyone’s effigies would be hung by the legs, Kaede’s would be stabbed so then when Korekiyo let go of her, she spun and locked the door. When Tsumugi finally walked into the room and saw how everything was set up, her heart dropped and it wasn’t in the good way. She felt a shudder go down her spine, it was almost electrical. She wished that she could unplug everyone from the simulation, she wished she could ask who the hell did this, who was the culprit? Tsumugi didn’t know. She didn’t. Was Rantaro Amami back? Out of everyone Angie could’ve brought back it was Rantaro. Rantaro. Rantaro. Rantaro. Rantaro. Monotaro was named after Rantaro. It was a joke at first and.. Ugh god, what am I talking about? Um...

Everything was placed differently, way differently. The effigy who was stabbed wasn’t Kaede, instead it was Rantaro’s. Ryoma was broken into pieces, Kaede and Kirumi stood in front of Angie, kind of blocking her body but you could still see it. Did Korekiyo change it or something? That was certainly the case. What was happening? Why? Everyone arrived and Maki gently moved the effigies so everyone could see her body in it’s full absolute glory. Angie’s cardigan was plopped next to her, soaking in blood that came from what was seemingly her back. She was positioned differently, you could see her back. It was bruised. The culprit didn’t really seem to care about any mess that they made. This wasn’t Korekiyo. Tsumugi was in absolute shock, she became pale and it wasn’t just because she was scared of the culprit being someone else, no, it was more than that. Tsumugi had no idea how on earth this happened. The motive went through Korekiyo, he looked at the flashback light. She made sure of it. She was watching him.. So- so- why.. Why was it like this? “H-Hey.. Why did it end up like this?..” There was nobody that Tsumugi was talking to but herself. She had no idea what was happening, her body began to tremble, it began to shake so violently it felt like- It felt like someone was grabbing her by the shoulders and slamming her around, bouncing her like a bouncy ball. Tsumugi didn’t speak. She was completely silent. Someone ruined her game and this time she didn’t know who. Korekiyo suggested a seance, the caged child seance. Whatever, at least he’d murder one person, at least he wasn’t completely useless, she can just bend the rules and get him executed, it doesn’t matter anymore. She _ swore _ nobody would ruin her game, not anymore. The Monokuma File said that Angie’s back was broken, it must’ve been by someone or someone using something. Maki was scanning the lab, walking around and looking at things meanwhile Shuichi decided to talk to everyone who remained in the lab. “Shirogane, are you okay? You look kinda pale.” She shook her head, her body felt limp. “I- I- I don’t know who it was…. Shuichi you need to.. Figure it out..” He glanced at Angie’s body. “Yeah.. I haven’t figured it out yet but I will soon. Don’t worry..” Tsumugi sighed. Her lungs screamed. “I- I- need to go catch my breath.. Plain ol’ me can’t take this much..” She swerved past Shuichi and went out the door. She felt limp. She ran into the bathroom and broke down. It was important for her to keep her composure, she _ promised _, she gave her entire life for this. Nothing is going to ruin it, v3 will continue. Kodaka said the show must go on. If she didn’t fix anything that went wrong he’d need to fix her and remove her. She’s not allowing that. V3 will continue. It needs to, this time Tsumugi can’t just stand by anymore, she needs to work. If only for this one chapter. This needs to be fixed. Right now. 

* * *

The darkness swallowed him. Korekiyo is no longer here and the body is just walking around, mindlessly. Shuichi substituted for Kiibo as they needed a human person and not a robot. They blew out the candles, the seance began and before Korekiyo even realised he was being led to the cage in the middle. One misstep could cause him it all but it’s not like he’d have many hours left, he’d be executed and all the pain he felt before would be expelled. He wondered what type of execution would be given to him. He slammed down on the wooden piece and went back to his place as soon as he felt it was done. If she wasn’t dead yet, he’d just admit it and expose himself for attempting to kill her and have them all hate him a lot more than they all did. The warmness was now dry, kind of like he could almost feel the streaks that traced down his back. He lost quite a bit of blood, he wondered if anyone noticed it or anything, did it stain through? Kind of like when you’d paint with something like watercolor and you let it drip onto the paper.. And it would just be absorbed.. But the color was still there in almost a wide bloomed flower shape. 

The seance concluded and Korekiyo instructed to remove everything in order, slowly so as to not disturb it. There lies the empty husk of what was once Tenko Chabashira. Himiko ran over to her, destroying the pattern drawn on the floor with her shoes and she shoved off the cage. It’s not only until you do something, you realize you did it. It sounds weird. He had a feeling of deja vu, as if this happened multiple times before, as if he heard Himiko screaming Tenko’s name and crying over the dead body, his body began to feel heavy instead of light, the warmness became cold. He felt guilty but there wasn’t much guilt left to feel after his execution, he’d be dead and that would be the end of it. Himiko hated him, despised him, she could consider him dead, in the end Korekiyo didn’t mind. He hated himself as much as one could hate any other being. But the hate would arrive after the trial, Shuichi was quite the exquisite detective and as everyone else did, he silently believed in Shuichi.. Even if it was to bestow his own defeat and death. 

* * *

Tenko’s blood seeped through her tights, it was warm, it felt sticky. It felt like her hand was touching her knee, trying to reassure her. Himiko was purely alone now, Korekiyo avoided her. Tsumugi was never a real friend nor was Maki.. Nor was Gonta, nor was Shuichi, nor was Korekiyo, nor was Kiibo, nor was Miu, nor was- Her two real friends were gone. She wished that Shuichi could just solve the case already so Himiko could know who to hate. She’d enjoy their execution, she _ hated _whoever did this. She wanted to take Monokuma’s place. She wanted to set them on fire. To burn them. To lose all form. 

Tears rolled down her cheek, they kept coming and wouldn’t stop. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. The body discovery announcement went off, everyone was called to get to the room so they could stare at Tenko’s dead body. The fact that she was in the room when it happened made her feel even more useless, maybe if she would’ve insisted on being the one that Angie could speak through, maybe Tenko wouldn’t be dead. Was the seance even real? Korekiyo was the only one who could say. She glanced at him but she didn’t see anything. His eyes were empty, as empty as Tenko’s body. She looked back down at the pool of blood. The monokubs arrived, Himiko wished to take them and Monokuma apart. Stomp on them until they were nothing but scraps of metal and bolts on the floor. She wasn’t the strongest but she could kick. She could kick them across the room. There was no use though. If Tenko and Angie were dead, who was to say that she wasn’t going to be the next one to die? Her body was going to be the next one laying on the floor with a puddle of blood as her aura. The investigation started and she hadn’t moved from where she was kneeling, her legs fell asleep. She could fall asleep next to Tenko and never wake up, yeah, she’d be fine with that. 

She felt two taps on her shoulder. “Yumeno, would you like to get some tea? Just so you can get away for a bit and calm down. You’re visibly shaking.” It was the first time that they’d talked in a while and his voice wasn’t the same. It sounded like he felt nervous to say it or as if someone held a gun to his head. She nodded anyway. He helped her up and they walked together to the cafeteria, no word was exchanged. The blood on her tights was dried and with every step she took, she could feel them sticking and unsticking. Gross. They arrived and Korekiyo slowly shut the door. Himiko felt like she was going to die right here, right now. Would Korekiyo kill her too? 

Too? For christ’s sake, she didn’t even know if it was him yet. Her mind just adverted to thinking it was him. Would Kokichi do it? He and Korekiyo were the only ones that she could believe killed her. Shuichi wouldn’t hurt anyone. She knew that. He wasn’t stupid enough to do that. Even if it was him, he was way smarter than all of them combined and he’d probably end up leaving this place alive. 

He went off to the kitchen and started preparing tea, Himiko sat down and laid her head on the table again. This time there was no tapping, there was no other sound than the light steps of Korekiyo preparing tea in the kitchen and her useless attempts at breathing. She caught herself hoping that he would poison it and she could collapse.. Just so she’d feel a bit less pain.

Himiko’s mind wandered into nothingness, it was like staring at a blank piece of paper and not knowing what in the world to write. Was there even a world outside for them to go back to? What even was this place? As soon as she got here her limbs felt heavy. It was a hassle to even walk. 

She snapped back into reality as soon as she heard Korekiyo coming out of the kitchen, the tea cups silently tapped against each other, the glass made some sort of soothing noise. 

Tink. Tink. Tink. 

“Yumeno-san..” He sat down. “You don’t seem too well. It’s useless for me to even ask if you are okay.” She stared at the tea cup. She didn’t even attempt to raise her head to look at him. “How would you feel if two of you found out two of your friends died?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I am here to observe… and only that.” Her body tensed, she crossed her legs and stared down at the reflection of the table. A silence stretched out. It wasn’t comfortable. “You’re so fucking inconsiderate. You know that, right?” Korekiyo shifted in his seat and stayed silent “You don’t talk to me, look at me or even acknowledge my existence for days, you never come out of your room and you.. You just don’t care.” She sat up. Her legs were still tense, she didn’t want to move and although it wasn’t possible, it felt like Tenko’s blood was seeping into her skin. Maybe that’s why she was so mad. “And then you… you kill my friends for no reason.. You- You were just jealous but why the fuck would you be jealous?!.. You were the one who didn’t even talk to me!” His head shot up and glared at her. She made him hate her, she could tell she was going to die soon. Why did she say that, though? She didn’t know if he was the one to blame for Tenko and Angie’s deaths. 

“I didn’t kill them. It would be stupid to do such a thing at this state.” 

This all felt like a dream. She felt like she was floating in space, somewhere unknown. Abyss. Her chair screeched against the tile, glass shattered and tea was on Korekiyo’s shirt.. On the table too. He stayed still, as if the burning tea didn’t bother him. “You killed them. You think tea is an apology?..”

She huffed. 

“Fuck you.”

* * *

_ Tea has an amino acid that is shown to reduce stress _

_ This amino acid is called theanine. ... And when you combine theanine with caffeine, it helps to boost your brain activity as well as your mood. It is this boost in mood and brain activity that gives us this sense of relaxation and well being that only tea can provide. _

My senses are so distorted that I can’t even tell the difference of the dried, cold blood seeping back into my skin and the hot tea dripping from the table onto my lap. Maybe that will sink into my bloodstream too. Maybe it will calm me. Because I can’t breathe and I’m no longer safe. Why was it that the only time that I felt safe, was in your room? Was when you spoke to me and it wasn’t an insult or an order. A distorted language that I don’t understand. That frustrated me. I couldn’t understand what the books were saying, what the heavy cage that could probably kill me if it dropped onto me only a few feet above my head. My bones feel like paper and I’m so cold that my skin holds no purpose anymore. A carcass that just stumbles around in the wind. 

I can’t feel my legs so I decide to get up.

* * *

Tsumugi didn’t know what was going on, one thing she knew for sure is that there was only one crime Korekiyo committed. There was only one dead girl on his consciousness. Only one, it was a problem. All of this was a problem and a huge one at that. This seemed like it wasn’t going to be able to be fixable by force. 

Did that mean that Tsumugi had a chance to die now? God. No. There’s no way in hell that Tsumugi could die, the team would notice something and stop whoever that was from doing anything because if she died it was just as if Rantaro Amami reigned victorious in ruining her game again. She wasn’t going to allow that. Plus, who was going to be the mastermind? Who was going to reveal that this was fiction, who was going to crush everyone with the truth? She didn’t spend all that time on her Junko cosplay just for it to get ruined by some lanky- No. She’s not going to let him get the best of her, this is a test and whether or not her team wants her to pass it or not, she will and she’s going to make sure that she does. She doesn’t care, nothing is getting ruined anymore because of someone who broke from their command. I am simply not going to die. 

Tenko Chabashira is now dead, Korekiyo did his job and that is the only thing that matters right now. Korekiyo. Tsumugi tapped on Shuichi’s shoulder, “Erm, Saihara.. Can I go back to my room for now? I feel dizzy and I really don’t want to… Ruin anything..” Maki glared at Tsumugi with daggers for eyes “No. Stay here and sit down.” Maki was one of the survivors but quite frankly Tsumugi didn’t really know why Maki survived instead of someone like Kaito. Someone useful, all Maki does is be a bitch from Rantaro’s death until Tenko’s. She loves a sick boy and said sick boy dies. There’s no reason for Maki to survive. Kaito surviving would be better because he could overcome his sickness or something. Too late, everything was already written down and handed out to all 200 team members, there was no way she could change it anymore. “Why not? She feels sick, Harukawa..” Tsumugi moves her eyes slowly so it seems like it’s a hassle to even look around. “Saihara.. For all we know, Tsumugi could be the culprit of both murders and she could just be.. Trying to pick something up from Yonaga’s dead body.” Bitch. “It’s- We’re all going to show up at the trial grounds anyway.. We’ll know if something’s moved..” Maki scoffs and goes to do something somewhere else, she just wants to boss everyone around after not doing shit and depending on Saihara the entire time. Are the only things filling your thick head, Kaito and threats? “Thank you Saihara.. I’m sorry that plain ol’ me couldn’t help.. I promise I will be of help during the trial.” Shuichi smiled at Tsumugi. “Rest until the trial, Shirogane.. I think we’ll be fine for now.” 

Tsumugi walked out of the room where Tenko’s dead body lied. Who killed Angie Yonaga? Because it certainly wasn’t Korekiyo. This wasn’t how everything was supposed to happen. Tsumugi walked out of the school building and walked to the dormitories, she wasn’t going to lay down and rest, obviously not, what kind of irresponsible mastermind would do that? She was going to watch Korekiyo’s every move until the trial. Korekiyo was on the list of people she hated. It was his fault, and she’d make sure that he suffered every step of the way until he died. She opened the door and bumped into something nearly as hard as a wall. 

“Oh.” 

_ Speak of the fucking devil. _

Korekiyo turned around and looked at Tsumugi with dead eyes. It was like a pit, an abyss of just.. Nothing. “Shirogane, I’m sorry. I must’ve spaced out.” She looked at his uniform, something he said was so precious to him was soaked with something. Did someone throw something onto him?.. Probably Himiko. Maybe they finally broke up because Himiko saw how Korekiyo ruined everything and how everything was his fault. Maybe he cried, maybe he yelled at her or didn’t say anything at all. “My! What happened to your uniform, Shinguji-kun? Did you spill something?” Korekiyo nodded and looked past her shoulder, like he couldn’t even keep eye contact with her. “Yes, I slipped and I spilled the tea kettle I was preparing onto my uniform.” It’s not like she could care any less. Tsumugi Shirogane didn’t give a shit about what happened to his uniform or why it happened, but The Ultimate Cosplayer had to, as a classmate. She needed to care. “Are you okay? Would you like me to wash your clothes for you?.. You do seem rather tired.” He shook his head. “No. I can manage on my own. Thank you for your concern anyway, Shirogane.” Yeah, yeah. Sure. Well, at least she knew where he would be until the trial. “If you need anything, I’ll be glad to help the most I can!” And he walked away without another word, he did look tired and she knew he was tired because he hadn’t slept or ate in the past few days, how is he not dead? He would be in a few hours. Would he just drop dead during the trial? What a waste. 

* * *

Himiko held no more control of her actions, she just sat outside of the lab where everyone was investigating Tenko’s dead body. The blood probably seeped all the way under the planks at this point, a pool of blood for the bugs to play in. 

She felt like such a mean person, she would never do something like that- Especially to Korekiyo. He was so gentle with his words and he never raised his voice, he never got mad. He was nice to her and it wasn’t to get something from her, it wasn’t like he wanted to take advantage of her. That’s what everyone did, always. He just wanted someone to talk to. “..Yumeno?” Himiko lifted her head from where it rested on her knees and looked up at Kaito. She was never friends with Kaito, she never really talked to him either, he was always with Shuichi or Maki. He probably likes Maki. “Nyeh…” He shifted his weight onto his other leg, looking down at her with worried eyes. He seemed scared, he looked nervous, probably because this whole thing had to do with ghosts. She knew he was scared of ghosts, it was painfully obvious. “Are you okay?” That’s such a stupid question. She hated those three words as much as she hated herself. “I don’t know, Momota, How would you feel if both Harukawa and Saihara died only hours apart?...” She wasn’t like this, she felt sorry for talking like this and she knew he was only trying to help her but the words spilled out without asking if it was okay. “Jeez, sorry.” He walked away and Himiko got up, her legs led her behind Kaito and she hugged him. “Don’t ask. I just… really need a hug.” Kaito turned around to face her. “Okay then.” He felt like a big brother, he smelled like lavender and men’s cologne. He just felt like a giant, warm teddy bear. No wonder Maki and Shuichi liked him so much. 

* * *

The steam filled the room, nothing could be seen. It burned, worse than the blood that seeped from his neck, worse than the teacups that spilled into his lap. It burned but there was nothing else that could give him back the sense of something, anything. He didn’t care, so long as he could feel it. 

I should hurry, the trial could start soon and I wouldn’t be ready. 

He stepped out of the shower and left his dirty clothes on the floor of the bathroom. There was no voice to tell him to clean it anymore, so he just left everything as it was. His skin was tight and red, being as pale as he was, he looked burnt. Strawberry. Himiko smelled like strawberries. His hair flopped directly into his face, letting water slide down and splash onto the floor. Multiple water droplets fell from his hair and onto the floor, some got onto the clothes he left on the floor. He continued to his bedroom to get dressed.

Only in a few hours he’d be dead, and so would be the other person that killed Yonaga.. Who killed Yonaga? Was it him? He could’ve killed everyone at this point and not even realized it. No. He would’ve remembered, plus, her back was bruised and broken. Her spine was broken. His hair began to fall out and he could barely put any weight onto the beam when killing Tenko. He could fly away with any strong gust of wind. He couldn’t have done that, aware or not, his legs can’t even support his own weight anymore, how on earth was he supposed to break someone’s spine? 

He went back to the bathroom and opened the vanity drawer to pull out a pair of scissors. He put the blade to his leg, right under where his underwear ended and drew three straight lines, his skin cut open like paper. He put the scissors on the counter and put his pants on, letting the threads of the pockets slink into the cuts, exploring the inside of his skin and blood. Quiet punishment. 

I picked up the scissors and put it to my hair. There’s hair everywhere. I pick up the chunks of thinned hair and my tea-stained uniform from the floor and dump it into the garbage can. 

God save me. 

* * *

It was finally time for the trial. Monokuma announced that they’d need to meet at the trial grounds as always. Tsumugi would finally know who ruined her plan. She got up from her chair and headed out of the library door to make her way up to the trial grounds. The click-clack of her shoes on tiles, suddenly stopping on patches of grass, coming through the cracks in the floor and continuing when it found the tile again, the click-clack sounded louder than before and it echoed through the halls. Her heart was beating so hard that perhaps you could even see it through her shirt and blazer. Truly, everything could go to shit in only a few minutes, Shuichi would get something wrong and deduce the wrong conclusion and Tsumugi wouldn’t be able to redirect it because she had no idea who killed Angie. Korekiyo killed Tenko but not Angie. Would two people be executed? Normally the double killer was only one person.. But that’s not positive thinking and what Tsumugi needed to be doing was thinking positively. She just had to try. Try and hope for the best. Tsumugi got to the elevator and looked around. Korekiyo stood in the corner and looked down at the floor. Himiko was on the other side, behind Kaito. Korekiyo didn’t have a long curtain of black, spidery hair anymore. It was short and nearly see through, up to his shoulders, almost. 

Everyone stood at their podiums and monokuma appeared to introduce the trial as always but there was a new part added to it. “..But this time it’s a double whammy! If there’s two blackened, only the first person will get executed and the second one will have a chance to be cleaned of their sins!” Tsumugi perked up because she knew Monokuma wasn’t going to tell her to shut up as if it was anyone else, “Ummm, why not both blackened?..” She just wanted both people to be gone, if there were two people that had the possibility to ruin her game, she wouldn’t just let the second person run amok. They both needed to face consequences. “Those are the rules! Only one person per execution, sadly..” And with that the trial began. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a LOOOOOONG time to get out but I'm really proud of it, honestly. I like it and I hope whoever is reading it does too. The other chapter might take even longer to come out, but thankfully because of my two week break, I was able to start writing this again. Chapter 3's continuation will be in the next part and possibly the start of chapter four, it will shift from a more Himikiyo perspective to Kaito, Kokichi and Tsumugi. Nonetheless I hope you continue to read this anyway. Even if no one reads it, I'll still pretend like someone does lol. 
> 
> This honestly became really venty towards the first Korekiyo part where it's being described that he doesn't even know who he is or is aware that he's just literally empty kdsnkdjn ummm haha thanks for reading. <3


	3. unraveling of a nobody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> do you know who you are? Are you really aware that this is what you want?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge tw for a bunch of things, look at the tags! I don't want anyone to get upset over anything in this, fiction affects reality. Be careful and enjoy :)

“What are you interested in?” He flinched at the question, like if the question was going to cause him his life. “Anthropology, of course.” She shook her head and puffed her cheeks out a bit, she looked like a chipmunk. “No.. Not that, like.. Your _ real _interests. Or- Or something you like to do. I don’t know uh-” He smiled at her and tilted his head a bit. “I don’t do anything other than what I’m told to do. Even If I wanted to.” Himiko’s voice softened a bit, it became more gentle and whispery “She just controls you, doesn’t she? You can’t do anything about it?..” He shook his head. “No…” He paused and sighed, “Perhaps it is for the better. At least she lets me have.. This.” Himiko smiled at him. “You’re so weird..” 

Himiko was the first person that he had ever told about her demands, punishments and lectures. The yelling that would go on inside of his head until he held something sharp in his hand, he wasn’t afraid of dying. If he wasn’t alive she’d have nothing to yell at. She’d apologize as always and say that she would never do it again, it’s not like he even believed her but something inside him made him trust her and it was so hard to hate her. She’d yell endlessly until he realized he needed to threaten her back so she’d tone it down, all of the demands made his head want to explode. It wasn’t always yelling inside of his head, maybe that was why it was so hard for him to hate her. She’d praise him if he did something right or if he had survived yet another trial. When he’d try to confront her, she’d say that it didn’t happen. So he stopped trying. 

The yelling and praises stopped, it all stopped. It stopped when the objects began to yell at him instead, it was after the flashback light had ended. He never heard his sister anymore, it was kind of a relief to not hear her anymore. Maybe she was finally dead, _ for real _this time. Several feet under him and covered by sheets of concrete. It was up until then that he realized how lonely it really was inside of his head. How lonely he’d always been. He was going to die like that and that’s what really made it sad. 

He stood among everyone else. Someone else in the room was going to die instead of him. The rule was stupid, he should die either way.

* * *

The trial began and Shuichi began to go over everything they’d discovered. They started with looking over Angie’s death, since she died first. This time the rush wasn’t going through Tsumugi’s body, the tingle in her fingers wasn’t there either. Instead it was a cold sweat and gross shivers, the cause for this were the two people that killed Angie and Tenko. They were at fault and Tsumugi wasn’t going to rest until the person that killed Angie was dead and so was Korekiyo. “While in Yonaga’s lab there was a white wooden floor piece and it seemed like what came from the labs’ floor. It had blood on it and while Harukawa was looking around, a canvas on the floor was covering a hole where the floor piece was taken from.” Maki nodded, I’m surprised she did anything else but bitch the entire time. “Yes, it looked like the piece was just ripped out with sheer strength, so I don’t think anyone weak would’ve been able to get it off. Either that or the floor piece wasn’t nailed in correctly.” Miu perked up, “That room’s floor was squeakier than a bed!” Tsumugi needed to help, she promised Shuichi, everyone had to be helping, Shuichi was always pulling the load. This would probably be the only trial that she’d put work into other than the last trial where she crushed everyone’s hopes and dreams. “Mhm! The floor did seem rather squeaky.. Umm, the Monokuma file mentioned that Yonaga’s back was broken, is there a possibility that her back was broken with that? And.. since there was blood on the plank, maybe she was hit in the back of the neck or head with it too?” He nodded. “I think you’re right about the head. The Monokuma file mentioned that her cause of death wasn’t the blunt force trauma to the head but the broken back.” Kokichi spoke up for the first time, though he talks a lot, he had just been watching up until this point. “What if she was hit with the plank at first.. Mmmm, maybe like a few times until she collapsed? While on the floor maybe the culprit took advantage of her weakness and began to stomp on her back!”

This was just being solved for her. Tsumugi didn’t even need to put any effort into it, really. They figured it out as always. 

They began to piece everything together, Himiko never looked up at or glanced at anyone, did they really break up? Or was she just mad at him, suspecting him. Korekiyo talked once and that was to help, it was obvious that Korekiyo did not kill Angie. Tsumugi had no idea who killed Angie, only Angie knew and she couldn’t tell them. “I think I’ve come to a conclusion.” Shuichi sighed and waited for everyone to look at him. Tsumugi wanted to open everyone’s heads and climb in. Look at everything in there. “Considering what we’ve.. Discussed, I think I have an idea as to who was the one responsible for Yonaga’s death. Chabashira killed Yonaga.” Himiko’s head shot up and glared at Shuichi. “I think it’s pretty evident as to why Chabashira would do it. Chabashira mentioned to me and Harukawa the night before Yonaga’s death that Yonaga was brainwashing Yumeno and that she needed to save her from it, it wasn’t healthy for Yumeno. Chabashira must’ve wanted to take matters into her own hands and kill Yonaga so the brainwashing would stop.” He took a deep breath. “The only people who could’ve caused wounds like that.. Could’ve broken Yonaga’s back.. are strong people.. Such as Harukawa, Gokuhara and Momota.. Who we all have gotten an alibi from.” Tsumugi was looking at Himiko. She was about to snap like a piece of pencil lead. “Chabashira killed Yonaga.” Himiko put her head down. 

They moved on to how Tenko died, it began to look like what Tsumugi wrote in. At least Korekiyo’s sister would be revealed, the reason he committed the murder. Maybe since Tenko was already dead, they’d execute Korekiyo instead. Shuichi revealed the seesaw effect and how the stupid ritual circle helped the culprit get to the plank. Korekiyo never spoke up until Shuichi said that he suspected Korekiyo. “I couldn’t have done that.” His voice was quiet and he didn’t look up. He didn’t look up at them. “Everyone else in the room during the ritual has an alibi.” Korekiyo shook his head. “I apologize.” Everyone looked puzzled. Was his sister going to appear? Was she going to be introduced? Hopefully, Tsumugi was so excited. The quiet stretched out for so long it felt scary. “I apologize, I have lied.” 

“I killed Tenko Chabashira.” 

Korekiyo looked up.

* * *

Nobody had ever seen him cry this much, not even her. It felt like a river was just seeping out of his eyes._ “Do you love me?” _ He couldn’t control it, the shaking, the fear, the panic. He was sweating and trying to get away from her. Her hands held him down so tightly that it hurt every time he tried to pull. “No!” He kicked, but there was nothing to kick. Just the space between her legs. Cold night air blew the thin white curtains, they flew above her and slowly came back down to where they needed to be. “ _ Do you love me? Why would you do this to me? If you loved me you wouldn’t do this.” _ He cried harder, air didn’t release and instead only pressed in harder. He let out a sob. “Why would you do this? Are you trying to escape me? Do you _ want _to hurt me?” The sobbing only came harder and there was no way to speak anymore. “You’re so pretty.” She took her hand off his right wrist and led her hand to his shirt, his body laid there, useless and afraid. She unbuttoned it and made him feel so ugly. 

I think she was lying to me when she called me pretty.

* * *

“What a load of shit!” He’s not lying, he can’t be. Korekiyo would never lie about something like this. Maybe he didn’t kill Angie but he did kill Tenko. Would that be enough to hate him for? Of course it is. “You fuckin me?! That’s such bullshit! You think we’re gonna believe you, creepo?! He’s obviously saying that so we can get distracted and the actual person can think something up!” Korekiyo stared at his feet again. Monokuma looked confused. “Huuuh? What’s going on? This isn’t supposed to…” Everyone was silent, so silent you could hear everyone’s hearts beating. Is this the end of our lives? Are we going to die? Is he going to take us down with him? Korekiyo looked up once more. “Monokuma, I apologize for killing the thrill of your game so early on.. But there is no reason I should stay alive any longer. I do not know why you all let me stand among you.” Someone shifted their weight, someone let out a quiet gasp. Himiko didn’t know who did what but she couldn’t move her eyes away from Korekiyo. “Eh? Are ya asking to die?... But you haven’t resolved the case yet! If you’re not the blackened, everyone else dies and the real blackened lives.” Miu groaned “That’s what I fuckin’ said! He’s gonna sacrifice himself for someone else! Are we all going to die l-” Himiko opened her mouth, she couldn’t keep it in. “No! Monokuma, that was your rule! Shinguji isn’t going to die! You’re not going to kill him!” Tsumugi perched forward onto her podium. “But- What if he’s really the blackened?” He tensed. He hadn’t defended himself, not once. “N- No! He.. He _ did _kill Chabashira but he didn’t kill Yonaga! He’s not the first killer, he- He can’t get executed because you just want someone to die!.. Chabashira killed Yonaga, she was the first killer, she’s dead! There’s nobody to kill!” Monokuma started to mumble something. Tsumugi looked down at her podium and her eyes widened. She looked back up and glared at Korekiyo. Everyone was staring at Korekiyo. Shuichi opened his mouth.

Please fix this, Shuichi. 

“..Monokuma, may we all vote for the first killer?..” Monokuma tilted his head and groaned. “Fine, but if you’re all wrong you all die! Immediately!” The voting screens popped up on their podiums and everyone looked down. Tsumugi tapped on her screen so quickly, she had her mind made up. She probably voted Korekiyo. Though as much as it hurt, Himiko knew this was the only way they’d survive. 

Together. 

And maybe Tenko would be happy that she survived no matter the circumstance. So she pressed onto Tenko’s icon and voted for her. 

The results popped up on the screen and Tenko had 8 votes under her name and there were two votes under Korekiyo’s name. Tsumugi voted for him and he voted for himself. Monokuma let his head hang low. “Hummm… I guess no execution today…” Monokuma left and so did the Monokubs. Everyone got away from the trial grounds. “So, the fuck are we gonna do with this psycho?” Korekiyo kept his eyes on the floor. “We can’t just let him roam free! He’ll kill everyone else! I can’t die yet! The world needs me!” Kokichi nodded, “Let’s keep him on a leash!” Korekiyo kept his head down. “Gonta suggest we watch him! All day!” “Through what, cameras?! Gonna watch him-” “He’s not a monster! Just- Everyone go to your rooms.. I’ll deal with it.” Everyone was shocked that Himiko even spoke up. Kaito wiped the surprised look off of his face and smiled, “Let’s leave it to her! She’s got it! Right?” Himiko smiled and nodded at him. Everyone started to disperse. Kaito began to push Maki and Shuichi away; “I’ll catch up!” He whirled around and looked down at Himiko, “If you need any help, come get me, Okay?” He glanced at Korekiyo for a second before running off behind his friends. 

Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for her to offer to take over, because they just stood there. Silent. “Thank you.” Himiko nodded her head. “Yeah.. Um. I’m sorry for the.. Um..” He shook his head and finally looked up again, not at her but it was a start. “I deserved it.” “N- No you didn’t.. What happened to you?” He started to walk to the dormitories. “..You will think I’m insane. You will say it’s a made up reason. You’ll hate me even more. You do not have to do this.” “Yes, I do! I have to!.. She’s going to end up killing you.. I.. You’re the only one I have left.” He kept walking. She followed him.

* * *

What the hell just happened? 

I can’t stand this anymore, I’m going to go insane- I can’t..

I can’t stand him! _ Someone _always needs to ruin everything I’ve worked so hard for! He’s going to kill me! The team is going to hate me! This season is going to get cancelled and it’s all his fault! Him! If he would’ve stuck to the script- If he revealed- If he would’ve done everything he was supposed to, everyone would hate him more! They’d hate him and he would be dead! Why the fuck was he alive?! He needed to be dead, he was created to be hated! He needed to be hated! This isn’t what I wanted! This isn’t what I wrote! 

Tsumugi slammed on her desk a million times, the monitors shook harder every time. Until her Junko cosplay fell over, she stopped and stepped to the side. “AHHHH!!!” She dropped to her knees. “This isn’t what I wanted! God dammit!” She slammed her hands onto the floor. “You’re watching me, right?! You’re seeing this!.. Please! Please, let me fix this! I can’t let this game get ruined! I can’t- I can’t let him ruin my game, I’ve worked too hard!!” 

My team is going to hate me. If only they’d all seen her. If they’d seen how hard she worked for this. If only they saw how hard I worked to get here! 

I will always reign victorious. It’s the only thing I know how to do.

* * *

Himiko laid in bed, uncomfortable. There was no position she could get comfortable in. Maybe a shower or something could help. She got up and went to the bathroom and started to undress. She peeled off the tights from her legs. “Oh..” Tenko’s blood was still on her knees. A little bit on her calves. The day stretched out so long she never even realized that it happened today. 

The doorknob jiggled three times. She didn’t even know what time it was but she got up anyway, it wasn’t like she was anywhere near falling asleep. Her cold, soppy hair touched her bare back and she realized she was wearing only a tank top and pajama pants. She swiped a throw blanket she got from the warehouse around her shoulders and went to the door. She opened it and saw Korekiyo covering his face. He was slightly hunched over, his dress shirt was messy and wrinkled. His hair was wet, water dripped onto the floor. “..Um.” She grabbed his hand and led him into the room, closed the door and locked it. “Um.. What’s wrong?..” She was still holding onto his hand. “Oh...I..I’m sorry. I shouldn’t even be here.” He tried pulling his hand away but she only made her hand tighter. It scared him and he flinched. She dropped his hand and stepped away. “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to squeeze-” He stood there, quiet. Like he was frozen. “W- What happened though?” He shook his head and sank to the floor. “I don’t hear her anymore. She went away after the flashback light. I don’t hear her and it’s unbearable.” 

This wasn’t the first time she heard him talk normally. He began to talk like a normal person only a week into these things. She was surprised when it happened. He dug his head into his knees and told her the only reason he spoke like that with anyone else was because that wasn’t him. He didn’t know who it was, just someone who talked for him. “But here.. Here.. I feel safer.. I don’t need to hide behind that person. I can talk.” She laughed “So you’re not a weirdo afterall!” 

\---

“I- I didn’t choose to.. I didn’t choose to kill Chabashira. But it wasn’t her. It wasn’t me and it wasn’t her. I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror days before that. I’d fling stuff across the room and every time… Every time that I wanted to do something.. Talking to you.. I wanted to, I wanted to talk to you so badly but something- Someone wouldn’t let me.” He let his head sink into his knees. “I still don’t know who they are. It frustrates me so much I want to _ die. _” She couldn’t even respond. What do you say to that? “I didn’t think living without her would be so bad. I thought I’d be okay. But everything just got worse..” 

He started sobbing. “It just got worse..” She hugged him. And they stayed like that until they fell asleep. 

* * *

_ Team danganronpa, _

_ I have to start this by apologizing. I’m sorry that it went off script but I promise you that.. I promise that I will make this even more entertaining than you all thought it would ever be. I promise. With my whole heart. I’ll bring something new to the table, something that nobody has ever seen. _

_ Trust me. _

_ Give me one more chance, that’s all I need. _

_ Sincerely, Tsumugi Shirogane. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is a lot more shorter.. Honestly I don't really like it except for one part, I really don't know what to say..  
I rewrote this a bunch of times and I even wanted to restart the entire thing.. oh well..  
Funny how the last time I uploaded, i thought i was just getting a week off.... and now it's august.. (‾◡◝)  
already making headway through chapter four, i'm full of ideas right now, lets hope it doesn't stop!


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